SHORT TERM PRESERVATION FOR FIG (Ficus carica cv. Black fig) BY DIFFERENT OSMOTIC STABILIZERS

Fig (Ficus carica L.) is a deciduous tree that belongs to the Moraceae family, and one of the most suitable species for cultivation in semiarid environments found in regions of the Mediterranean and Middle-East; it is considered to be one of the important crop plants grown in Egypt. Many of the species are currently threatened; continuously vulnerable to loss and genetic transmutation due to the absence of safe longterm preservation. In vitro preservation of vegetative propagated genetic resources aided in providing an effective conservation system for the guarantee of food supplies. The present study used shoot tip cultures that were obtained from the black fig (Ficus carica) from Siwa. Shoot tip explants were cultured on conservation media composed of full strength MS medium with 0.8% (w/v) agar and different concentrations of different osmotic agents. The study investigated the use of osmotic stabilizers (mannitol and sorbitol, with concentration of [40 g/L, 50 g/L and 60 g/L]) in the media at two different temperatures (5C and 10C) through a 3 months period in order to determine which osmotic stabilizer, concentration, and temperature would display an eminent effect on the in vitro short-term storage of fig shoot cultures. A (30 g/L) concentration of sucrose was used as the control media. Results were in favor of sorbitol (50 g/L) at a temperature of 5C. In addition Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) marker was performed to assess molecular characterization of genetic identity and stability; results illustrated that no genomic instability and mutations were found in the propagated fig (Ficus carica L.) cultures.